Structure of probe card for inspecting electrical characteristics of object to be inspected

Abstract

A probe card installed in a probe device includes a supporting plate capable of supporting a contact body and a circuit board installed above a top surface of the supporting plate. A connection member is installed at a top surface of the circuit board and the supporting plate and the connection member are connected to each other by a connection body. Load control members are installed at a top surface of the connection member and capable of maintaining a contact load between the contact body and an object to be inspected at a constant level. Elastic members are installed at a peripheral portion of the connection member and capable of fixing a horizontal position of the supporting plate. An intermediate member is installed between the circuit board and the supporting plate and configured to elastically and electrically connect the circuit board and the supporting plate.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A probe card for inspecting electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected, the probe card comprising:
 a supporting plate capable of supporting a contact body which comes into contact with the object to be inspected during inspection; 
 a circuit board installed above a top surface of the supporting plate and capable of transmitting an electrical signal for inspection to the contact body; 
 a connection member installed at a top surface of the circuit board and connected to the supporting plate; 
 a reinforcing member that includes a main body disposed above the circuit board in parallel thereto and a fixing body extending downward from a peripheral portion of the main body for fixing a peripheral portion of the circuit board; 
 a plurality of load control members installed at a top surface of the connection member and capable of maintaining a contact load between the contact body and the object to be inspected at a constant level; and 
 a plurality of elastic members installed at a peripheral portion of the connection member and capable of fixing a horizontal position of the supporting plate, 
 wherein the fixing body on the peripheral portion of the circuit board protrudes toward an inner side of the circuit board, and 
 the plurality of load control members are installed between the top surface of the circuit board and a bottom surface of the main body of the reinforcing member. 
 
     
     
       2. The probe card of  claim 1 , further comprising an intermediate member installed between the circuit board and the supporting plate and configured to elastically and electrically connect the circuit board and the supporting plate. 
     
     
       3. The probe card of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a load measuring unit capable of measuring loads applied to the load control members; and 
 a control unit capable of controlling the loads applied to the load control members to be a uniform level based on the measurement result of the load measuring unit. 
 
     
     
       4. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein the supporting plate and the connection member are connected to each other by a connection body, and
 a guide member capable of guiding vertical movement of the supporting plate is installed at a peripheral portion of the connection body. 
 
     
     
       5. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of elastic members is a plate spring having one end fixed to a peripheral portion of the connection member and the other end fixed to the fixing body of the reinforcing member for reinforcing the circuit board. 
     
     
       6. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of load control members includes a spring. 
     
     
       7. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of load control members includes an actuator for maintaining a thrust force at a constant level. 
     
     
       8. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein the contact body has a triple-layer structure including a flat plate-shaped intermediate body and elastic sheets adhering to both a top surface and a bottom surface of the intermediate body, and
 the elastic sheet adhering to the bottom surface has a conductive member which comes into contact with the object to be inspected during inspection. 
 
     
     
       9. The probe card of  claim 1 , wherein the contact body includes: a cantilever portion, one end of which is supported on the supporting plate; and a contactor which extends from a free end of the cantilever portion toward the object to be inspected and comes into contact with the object to be inspected during inspection.